Journey to the Maldives

Our latest international adventure began on August 18th with a departure from San Francisco International Airport on British Airways at 7:30 in the evening to London Heathrow arriving the next day 08/19 at 1:55pm their time. This ten hour flight was the first leg in our journey to the Maldives for a 12 day scuba diving expedition.

The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean, near the southeastern boundary of the Arabian Sea. The Maldives is located southwest of India and Sri Lanka, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator.

The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Its land area is only 115 square miles, but this is spread over roughly 35,000 square miles of the sea, making it one of the world's most spatially dispersed sovereign states. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the second least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest country by area, but also one of the most densely populated countries. The Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of around 4 feet 11 inches above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 7 feet 10 inches) making it the world's lowest-lying country. Some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 17 feet.

Waiting to check-in our AirBnB at the airport coffee cafe. Normally we only travel with a rolling carry-on and backpack, but we need the two red rolling checked luggage for all our diving gear.

We are meeting our friends Bill Bullard and Mathias Bonse from our scuba diving traveling group. Mathias was the instigator of this idea because he just couldn't wait until January 2027 for our scheduled trip to the Philippines. He floated the idea to book a liveaboard in the Maldives during the middle of August and we jumped on board (pun intended).

Our second leg of the trip departed London 6:20 PM on August 19th via British Airways to Male, Maldives arriving Friday, August 20th at 08:55 AM. Another ten hours in the air to get to our ultimate destination. Karen and I were the first in our group to arrive in country. We waited at a coffee cafe until 2:o0 PM to check into our AirBnB. Bill arrived later in the afternoon and Mathias the next day.

You can cross the island Hulhumalé in 20 minute along this canal.

Friday evening we walked to the other side of the island of Hulhumalé for dinner at a local restaurant. On Saturday, August 21st we explored the area around the AirBnB and found places to eat. In the process we discovered we were walking distance to the anchorage of our live=aboard, "Carpe Diem". Once Mathias arrived we made arrangements to have the crew pick us up at the jetty dock on Saturday when we were boarding in the afternoon.

The Hulhumalé anchorage was filled with multiple scuba diving liveaboard yachts.

Saturday afternoon we are picked up at the jetty dock and delivered to the Carpe Diem.

Carpe Diem is a 35-meter-long motor safari yacht that can accommodate up to 20 passengers. It offers various itineraries, including diving and surfing cruises, allowing guests to explore the stunning underwater world of the Maldives. The yacht is equipped with modern amenities, spacious cabins, a restaurant, a bar, a sundeck, and a dive deck to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable experience. Carpe Diem provides a dive dhoni (boat) that is fully equipped with an extensive array of top-notch dive equipment, including a Nitrox compressor.

The crew of the Carpe Diem awaiting our arrival.

We were assigned one of the 2 High Standard / Double Cabins: Located on the main deck featuring double beds and en-suite facilities. We had the "Sea" cabin on the starboard side of the yacht. This would be our home for the next 12 days.

Saturday afternoon we met the rest of the guests that made up this first 7 day cruise. We had quite an international entourage which included two from China, one from Spain, two from France, one from the Netherlands, two more from Germany a couple from Malta, one Brit from Hong Kong and two Americans living in the UK, a total guest compliment of 17.

Day one included the vessel safety briefing, signing liability releases, introduction of the crew and our first dive briefing. We would do our first check dive in the late afternoon outside the main harbor to determine the size of tank we would use, the appropriate amount of buoyancy weight required and evaluate our equipment,

For those unfamiliar with the term, Carpe diem (ˌkɑːr.peɪˈdi.əm) is a Latin aphorism (a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression), usually translated 'seize the day', taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work Odes (23 BC). Horace's most famous odes include iconic poems on mortality, the fleeting nature of time, and Roman patriotism.. Odes 1.11 ("Carpe Diem"): Famous for introducing the phrase "carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero" ("seize the day, trusting as little as possible in the next").

We are ready to "seize the day", each day of this journey and experience the fullness of diving the Maldives!